Washington, July 2: BioNTech of Germany and the US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer reported initial positive results on Wednesday from a joint project to develop a coronavirus vaccine. The company's US arm said that one of its Covid-19 vaccines showed encouraging results in very early testing of 45 people. People were aged 18 to 55 and they received two doses, 21 days apart, of the vaccine or a placebo.

According to an AFP report, the preliminary data come from a phase 1/2 trial that aimed to show the vaccine is not toxic and triggers an immune system response to prepare the body to fight off the virus. COVID-19 Vaccine Update: China's CNBG Finds Success in Human Trials of Another Experimental Vaccine.

The vaccine -BNT162b1  produces antibody responses at or above the levels seen in any convalescent serum -- blood from people who have recovered -- at relatively low doses, according to BioNTech CEO, Ugur Sahin.

The company's CEO Albert Bourla had earlier said that Pfizer believes that a vaccine to prevent Covid-19 could be ready by the end of October. He made the comments while participating at a virtual event organised by the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers & Associations (IFPMA) end of May this year.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 02, 2020 11:41 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).